


And The Relief That Comes With It

by zarabithia



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 19:22:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20512196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: The life of a starship captain is stressful. Fortunately, Jim has Spock Prime to help him out with that problem.





	And The Relief That Comes With It

_It is hot._

_That is the first thought that Jim has. Hotter and dryer than any planet he's ever been on...hot enough to make Iowa's summers feel like Delta Vega._

_He knows the planet, of course. He's never been there, but he's studied it, like any good cadet._

_But he knows, as well as he knows which planet he is on, that it isn't his courses at Starfleet Academy that make the planet so familiar to him. _

The first time Jim has the dream, he is attempting a night of sleep after the first casualties the Enterprise experiences under his official command. It certainly isn't Jim's first attempt at sleep following the massacre of his security team on Telusia V, but the night of his dream is the first successful attempt.

_Spock - the other one. The older one. The one who **liked** Jim. That Spock was always waiting on him._

_Spock is covered in robes, and they keep the dry and cracked earth from getting into his mouth and nose. Jim doesn't have that protection; he's coughing and gagging, and his eyes are watering from the assault._

_"Jim." The voice is deeper, richer, and full of the kind of kind of affection Jim has to fight, pull, and wring from **his** Spock._

_This Spock wraps his fingers around Jim's, hot skin urging Jim forward._

_Jim never hesitates._

Jim finds the dream a little odd, when he wakes up, but he also finds that he isn't exhausted anymore. His crew notices too, despite the fact that they all very obviously try not to show it. But Jim doesn't miss the relieved squeeze of his shoulder that Bones gives him or the equally relieved smile Uhura flashes him. Considering the dream's content, he definitely doesn't miss the relieved little nod Spock gives him.

_The house is very familiar, though Jim has never been in it. It's familiar for the same reasons that the planet is familiar; he's seen them both through the gentle finger tips that are pressed against Jim's palm._

_They pass furniture, photographs, PADDs and old fashioned books. There is a dog dozing lazily by the door and Jim hears Terran horses in the background; he knows that neither animal belong on this planet, but it doesn't bother him in the present._

_"Memories," Spock tells him, and there's so **many**. Jim thinks that the constant flow of memories from another life should hurt, the same way it did on Delta Vega._

_But it doesn't._

Jim doesn't explain the difference that he is sure they can all see, and he chalks the dream up to nothing more than a side effect of the stress. It is a good guess, and one that receives some backing evidence when the dream does not repeat the following night.

_The water fills the tub and Spock undresses them. The action is slow and deliberate, and Jim leans against the wall without any desire to speed up the process._

_Because the wall is cool, and Spock's hands are still hot as they draw possessive circles on each newly nude patch of skin._

_Jim can **breathe** again, and the joyful discovery of that ability is enough distraction to allow his hands to remain idle as Spock undresses himself.. _

But the dream does eventually come back. The second time, in the midst of tense negotiations between the Vulcans and the Andorians, starts to establish an inkling of a pattern. After the third and fourth time - following a standoff with the Romulans and the Klingons, respectively - Jim is pretty certain of the reason behind the dreams.

_With his back against the back of the tub, Spock cradles Jim close to his chest. Their legs twine together in the water, and Spock seeks out one of Jim's hands with his own._

_Up and over, up and over - Spock's index and middle finger repeat the motion on Jim's corresponding fingers._

_The fingers are more wrinkled than any lover Jim has taken to his bed, but that does not make him push Spock away, nor does he feel any repulsion. Instead, he takes Spock's hand in his own, and repeats the gesture he's been shown._

That the dreams come only when he was feeling particularly stressed isn't hard to figure out, particularly for a starship captain, whose job entails observing patterns. But the headaches that always serve as a precursor to the dreams, those Jim isn't as certain about. They certainly aren't his body's normal way of dealing with stress, and the painful throbbing (exactly where the older Spock had placed his fingers to establish the meld, Jim always, always noted each time the headaches began) only occur the day before the dream.

_Jim recognizes all of the words that Spock murmurs into the side of his neck, though he doesn't yet have the knowledge of what their translations are. Though their definitions are unclear, the meanings behind them are not, and he is perfectly content to lean into Spock's chest and listen._

_Spock continues to murmur soothingly as his free hand reaches for the wash cloth._

The headaches are a pain in the ass, but they're a nice little warning, and are a sign to head to bed and catch what is typically a much needed bout of rest, when the state of the ship allows him to do so.

He still makes himself wait, though. He doesn't want to rely on the dreams ... they are too pleasurable, and though they offer him immense relief, it is a cheating that Jim isn't fully certain he should accept.

_Spock brings the cloth up to Jim's shoulders to start. Slow, leisurely strokes across the front and back of Jim's shoulders, before Spock brings the cloth around, front and downward._

_Spock squeezes the cool water from the cloth along Jim's collarbone. Spock's other hand never stops caressing Jim's middle and index fingers, and the repeated dip, wipe and squeeze of the cloth along his skin is as calming as those reassuring strokes._

So he waits, until Bones' irritable "you should get some rest, Jim" reaches levels that threaten a sedative in the form of those damn hyposprays, or until Spock reminds him for the third time that Vulcans need less sleep than humans.

When Jim finally does give in, sleep, and the relief that comes with it, is nearly instantaneous. The tossing and turning for a few restless hours before catching a few hard-won winks of sleep are no longer an issue.

_Spock is as thorough as any full-blooded Vulcan, even if Jim suspects that most Vulcans would be horrified at the sheer emotion of the words being mumbled into Jim's neck._

_Spock drags that washcloth over every inch of him, until Jim's hair is clinging to his scalp and the remains of the heat exhaustion have all been washed away into the water around them._

Jim wonders, sometimes, if he should bring up the dreams to Bones, or, god forbid, Spock. He probably should; the dreams have continued for so long now that they have to count as a medical condition. Considering their source, if Bones couldn't make the dreams stop, Jim is certain Spock could.

_Only after every other inch of him has been cleansed does Spock slide the cloth around Jim's cock. "Be still," Spock instructs, and this is the only time Jim would obey that command._

_Under the water, the friction caused by the cloth is just right, but Jim remains as still as he can, because Spock has asked him to._

_But then he can't hold it in anymore, and he is bucking into Spock's hand and his cries disrupt the silence of the room._

_It's the last act of release Spock grants him._

But Jim doesn't want the dreams to end. As far as he can tell, they don't impair his abilities as starship captain and they don't jeopardize his crew - on the contrary, his performance only seems to be enhanced.

So he keeps the dreams to himself, and if the sweetness of the dreams is accompanied by a momentary bitter, lingering sense of longing the morning after, Jim figures it is a reasonable price to pay.


End file.
